Thursday, May 27, 2010

Chapter 3 of Sarawak Mission Trip (Day 3, 20th May)

It was raining. Heavily. I slept too well after a long sleep, especially preparing till so late at night yesterday. Didn't want to wake up. Had to anyway. The team were to head to Debak town to have breakfast. I got up, wash up, dress up, and got ready to go.

8.30 a.m

The town of Debak wasn't that far away really. And it ain't that big either. Though we didn't really have the chance to explore the entire, yeah, kind of small. However, this place has EVERYTHING: shops and grocery stores that has literally everything you need (really, you should go and check it out. Amazing). The town even has a snooker center and a cyber cafe!!! How cool is that! Hehe. =)

FYI: The cyber cafe over there charges RM4 an hour. XD

And guess what? The coffee shop that we ate at sells too! The best part is, it only has one store. By fisrt impression, one would think that that shop only has one or two food on the menu. However, when we look up at the menu board, it had a list of choices. A store that sells a few kinds of noodles and rice, and many drinks as well. Well...

10.15 a.m

We returned from town after having a good breakfast and doing some shopping for the children's ministry for the night later and Sunday morning. I managed to get a big bottle of 100plus (I promised myself that when I get out of Debak, the first thing I'll get is 100plus, but since I saw it there, I couldn't resist XD), while the rest got the necessary things they need. We then went straight to have devotion and prayer. *After we finish praying, me and Ee Chiet went off to continue preparing for tonight.

I know one thing. I'm not ready. However, I know that God will do wonders. It's just what kind of wonders. =D

We were to depart at 3p.m, so we had a bit of an early lunch at 12 plus. The food is still the same as ever, DELICIOUS. Rating: 5/5. Hands down totally. After that meal, I took a nap, 'cause I was too sleepy. =P

2.45 p.m

I couldn't really sleep well. Probably due to the distraction in the hall, but that's not the reason. Or at least I think it's not. It's something else. Ahh yes. I had a dream. Bad one. Couldn't remember much of it, but I just know it's bad. That's all. Anyways, got up, put my bed away, washed my face a little, and got ready for tonight.

Seems that some of the ladies in the team are really "in" for it. Apparently the like of Doreen, Joyce, PC, KL, Pei Lee and Irena will be wearing sarong to the longhouse that night. Well, talking about being a Sarawakian. =DDDD

3.30 p.m

We left for the longhouse. Departed a little later than originally planned due to some unforseen circumstances and waiting for Pastor Liang. Anyways, the longhouse is just further up from the one we went the previous night, tho it's about an hour plus long. The journey I mean.

The journey to Sungai Kali wasn't all that smooth either. In fact, it's a little worse than the road from Kuching to Debak. There's this part of the road that rose up like a bump, but sharper than a normal bump. It's like as if the road was "smashed literally up, but stayed that way" sorta thing. Anyhow, arrived safely at the longhouse after having to cross a dangerous yet innocent looking bridge.

5 p.m

Ahh. THIS is more like it. A proper, or should I use this word - original - longhouse. Wooden, not so modern, small, longhouse. A longhouse with only 7 doors (meaning only 7 household), but still. It looks more like it. Hehe =D

We were a little early, so some of us decided to have a look around and went to the pig farm. Yours truly was still thinking about how to share for that night. Nervous as ever (well you can't blame me can you?). Got prayed for by KL, and I somehow know that God will do wonders. It's just a matter of what and how.

There were lots of animals there. Dogs and cats (fancy that. They live together =P), chickens, geese, and pigs. Kind of cool actually. I was amazed though, by how the dogs and cats can live together without chasing each other. Maybe they stayed too long together and got bored of each other, so they thought it'll be better to make a truce so that they wouldn't get tired of chasing each other everyday. =D

7 p.m

Dinner time! The moment we've been waiting for. Or at least I have. They cooked almost the same thing as Pastor Liang's wife did - same vegetables, same fish, but heck. It's still as tasty. Again, 5/5. Hands down.

I chose to eat more of the vegetables this time, rather than having rice, as I do realise I grew a little... bigger. XD After all the eating and fellowship, it's time for cell to begin.

I got more anxious. So did Ee Chiet. Again you can't blame us. It's our first time sharing the word of God to people of totally different culture and race, hence different language. We prayed still, and let God's will be done.

8 p.m

The gathering started with worship, with another pastor leading this time (forgotten his name =D) Again, they sang praise and worship songs in Iban.

Ps: I forgot to mention. In the previous longhouse, Pastor Liang gave us lyrics books so that we can sing along, or in my view, know what we are singing, 'cause really, you can't panthom what they are singing about without the book.

This time though, no books, but they happened to sing songs that are familiar to us, so we sang in English instead. Despite singing in different languages, we still sang together, in one voice. Amen.

My heart beats faster.

As usual, we were asked to introduce ourselves, and again to answer the same question of whether or not we are married. Perhaps they are serious about us getting engaged with Iban boys and girls after all. Just kidding. XD

So it begins.

8.30 p.m

It was time. Ee Chiet went first, as she was the first to speak. She shared about the two most important commandments of the bible, and after she was done explaining about it, she linked it with my topic, which is "Be Faithful". And here I was, already doubting about whether or not I can do it. Never mind, here goes nothing.

When my turn came, I stood up and begin to share. I shared about how in times of trouble, we can be faithful to God, and even if we are not, the Bible says God will still be faithful, because that's who He is. I also shared about how to be faithful within family members and spouses, and how God has commanded us as children to be faithful to our parents.

I know one thing. The confidence I got came from God. It had to be. There can be no other source, because if it came from my own, then I'd probably mumbled and mess up the whole thing. I really praise God for the entire session. He saw me through, definitely. After finishing my sharing, I sat down and breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. It's like.... Man, I don't even know how to describe it. Never mind. =D

I suddenly remembered about the children's fellowship, this time being taken charged by Pei Lee and Doreen (plus Daniel and Joyce). This time, they did about the five loaves and two fishes, and the children enjoyed themselves.

After everything was done, we had tea fellowship. This time however, the serving was bigger. They not only served biscuits, but also some sort of Sarawakian-made cookie or something. They even served as bananas and corns. My, were they SWEET!!! Especially the corns. Usually people will want it hot, so that they can put butter into it, and eat it. Well, there's no need for butter this time. It's naturally sweet. Goodness.

I took this time to chat with some of the locals. Speaking to one of them, I struggled to get into a conversation, as I did not know what to ask him, until I asked how did they go about with electricity. Apparently, they use a generator for electricity, with a maximum of 4 litres. That can only last them 4 days at most. Guess how much they pay for it? RM3.30 a day! That's close to Rm10 in 3 days, so a month will see them pay close to RM100 a month. Me here at Kampar don't even pay close to a quarter of that. That guy is currently hoping that the government will build poles so that they can have direct electricity.

10.45 p.m

It was time to go back. All of us enjoyed that night at the longhouse: the food, the surroundings, the warmth of the people. Off to the bumpy roads again we went, and it was almost 12.15 a.m when we arrived.

PC called for an emergency meeting, concerning the Youth Revival Meeting and the whole of Saturday. Apparently, Pastor Liang wanted us to conduct the entire thing as a camp. Youth camp sort of thing. Again, last minute stuff, but nevertheless, PC immediately put us into positions about what we're suppose to do.

Tired, but having this, indescribable feeling of joy, praising God for what He has done, and will continue to do in this mission trip.

Adios then. Off to bed, and to the next chapter....

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